NEW YORK — NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the league for life Tuesday, an emphatic and unprecedented response to racially offensive comments Sterling made to his girlfriend on a recently released recording.

Silver also fined Sterling $2.5 million, the maximum he can levy under the NBA constitution and bylaws, and said he would urge the league’s Board of Governors to force Sterling to sell the team.

The commissioner said the league’s investigation into the recording, which originally was published on the website TMZ.com, determined the voice and views belong to Sterling, 80.

“The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful,” Silver said. “That they came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my personal outrage. Sentiments of this kind are contrary to the principles of inclusion and respect that form the foundation of our diverse, multicultural and multi-ethnic league.”

Team spokesman Seth Burton said in an email that the Clippers had no plans to issue a statement from Sterling.

Silver said Sterling had confirmed that he was the person on the audiotapes and did not apologize for his remarks.

The announcement was greeted with full-throated support and a relief around the NBA:

• “Mr. Sterling’s words have absolutely no place in our working family or in a global sport that values inclusion, diversity and tolerance of people regardless of race, religion or sexual orientation,” a statement from the Denver Nuggets said.

• League most valuable player LeBron James tweeted, “Commissioner Silver thank you for protecting our beautiful and powerful league!! Great leader!! #BiggerThanBasketball #StriveForGreatness”

• Former player and current TV basketball analyst Magic Johnson said on Twitter, “Commissioner Silver showed great leadership in banning LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life.”

Silver said he spoke with several team owners before making his decision.

“I have their full support,” he said.

It would require three-quarters of the league’s 30 team owners to force a sale of the Clippers. Estimates of how much the franchise is worth range from $500 million to $700 million.

Shortly after the announcement, the Clippers website went to an all-black background with the words “We are one” at the center in block white type.

“We wholeheartedly support and embrace the decision by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver today,” the team said in a statement. “Now the healing process begins.”

The Clippers were to host Game 5 of their first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors in Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

“In response to today’s ruling by the NBA and Commissioner Adam Silver, my teammates and I are in agreement with his decision,” said Clippers guard Chris Paul, president of the players’ union. “We appreciate the strong leadership from Commissioner Silver and he has our full support.”

The league said the fine money will be donated to anti-discrimination and tolerance organizations jointly selected by the NBA and players association.

Speculation began immediately about a possible new owner, with Johnson’s name rising to the top of the list.

“Magic Johnson knows he is always welcome as an owner in this league,” Silver said, when asked about that possibility.

Johnson is part of the Los Angeles Dodgers baseball team’s ownership group.

The decision, the first major crisis Silver has faced since succeeding David Stern in February, came after a four-day investigation. The contents of the recording, in which Sterling asks his girlfriend not to bring African-Americans to games and urges her to delete an Instagram photo of herself with Johnson, rocked a league in which 76 percent of the players are black.

“It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?” Sterling asks the woman on the tape.

Silver said he didn’t know if Sterling would fight to keep the team. The ban applies only to Sterling, he said, and there had been no discussions about whether he could sell to a family member.

Sterling, 80, a real estate mogul with an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion, is the NBA’s longest-tenured owner. He has previously faced allegations of racial discrimination in his housing business, settling claims in 2003 and 2009.

Also in 2009, NBA legend and 22-year Clippers general manager Elgin Baylor sued Sterling for discrimination and wrongful termination. Baylor, who is African-American, alleged Sterling built his franchise with the “vision of a Southern plantation-type structure” and accused the team owner of a “pervasive and ongoing racist attitude.” A jury ruled in Sterling’s favor in 2011.

Clippers coach Doc Rivers, who is black, would not say whether he could continue to work for the team if Sterling remains as owner. Rivers declined a meeting request from Sterling.

The Associated Press and The Denver Post contributed to this report.

What’s next for Donald Sterling and the NBA

Commissioner Adam Silver banned Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling from the league, fined him $2.5 million and said that he would take steps to force Sterling to sell the team after an audio recording surfaced of the owner making racist statements.

Q: What does the ban mean for Sterling?

A: Sterling will not be allowed to attend games or practices, be present at any Clippers facility or participate in any business dealings or player personnel decisions. He also will not be allowed to represent the Clippers at any league functions, including the board of governors meetings.

Q: What are the financial implications of the incident?

A: Silver said it was too soon to tell if the corporate partners who pulled their advertisements would change course. But in taking such bold steps, Silver said it was his intention to send a strong message that racist views and language would not be tolerated.

Q: Can the owners really force Sterling to sell the team?

A: The NBA’s constitution states that any owner can be forced out of the league with the vote of 75 percent of the remaining owners. That means if all 30 of the league’s owners vote, 23 will have to vote in favor of his ouster.

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